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Anyone play /have an Alvarez electric bass
- Thread starter VictorG
- Start date
I had an Alvarez Music Man copy that I got at a yard sale for like $90. Great, solid player. I sold it a few years later and got what I had in it plus a little...
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I have an Alvarez 5 string bass. Can’t remember the model number and don’t have a good picture...but I love it. A little background...
My dad is a musician and music minister, plays guitar and does the odd gig here and there. After my 14th or so birthday I came home one day to find a Peavey Milestone Precision bass and an amplifier-my dad had bought them because (in his words) he needed a backup bass player and he expected me to be that guy. (So began my journey...)
That bass was soon replaced by a jazz style Peavey Milestone, again procured by my father and sprung on me unexpectedly (moments before a gig no less-don’t do that to your kids, dads out there).
Around the time I turned 16 I was still tooling around on that peavey j bass (maybe the best neck I’ve ever had on a bass, no joke...great shape and thickness, perfect and fast satin finish, and I could leave it sitting for weeks and it maintain tuning...that bass still sits in my office) but had yet to buy a bass on my own. I wanted the joy of picking an instrument myself and feeling connected to it, so I set out to find her.
I of course gravitated to the typical suspects (Fender, MusicMan, etc...) but never quite hit on the perfect companion. I walked into the shop one day and immediately saw my bass, as though she had called to me. It was the first five string I can remember seeing, a beautiful looking top (a flame/quilt laminate) and a striking orange finish. The fretboard was beautiful and dark, and lacked any markers beyond a single diamond band at the twelfth fret. The bass had a set of soapbar pickups I knew nothing about, and I was surprised to find “Alvarez” adorning the gloss black headstock. I played it around an hour and walked out with it that day.
I gigged around the country with that bass over the next few years and it shaped how I played and my musical philosophy. The pickups were warm and deep, and the frets were smaller and less obtrusive than most basses I had played, lending a nearly fretless sound and feel to glissandos and arpeggiated sections. My entire style was influenced and developed with that bass.
After I had stopped gigging and focused on finishing school, I came to a difficult time and found myself in an awful pinch. I hadn’t played in almost two years, and I reluctantly parted ways with the bass. I immediately regretted my decision, but it was done.
Fast forward another two years, and I was asked to join the praise band at a church I had been attending regularly. It’s a fairly large church with a wonderful music ministry, so I was delighted by the opportunity. I soon found out, however, that my 4 string bass wouldn’t cut it there. So many gospel-flavored songs are played in Eb, B, F, etc...keys not well-oriented to a 4 banger, and I found myself fighting for sonic space competing against all the other instrumentation. I remembered my Alvarez bass and regretfully recalled the day I sold it.
I didn’t have much time to mourn. Less than a week later, I got a call from my father telling me that I needed to come see him immediately. I went over to his house, and he pulled out a big case. I opened it up to find my Alvarez, two years removed from when I had last seen her, in better shape than ever before.
Apparently, my dad had walked into the guitar store that morning on a whim. He prepared to leave when someone approached the counter carrying a case, and saying to the sales rep “you’ve got to hear this bass”. My dad can’t explain why he felt the need to stand there as this guy opened his case and pulled this bass out, but he felt like he was supposed to wait and watch this.
So this guy pulls my bass out of the case, complete with my old strap, frets leveled and crowned and freshly set up. My dad immediately recognized it and bought it from the guy on the spot.
“I don’t know why, but God wanted you to have this bass back” is what he told me, without my explanation about my new music endeavor. I was awestruck.
The bass has served me well over the past 7 years, but the neck has developed a slight bend that I’ve been unable to gently coax back into alignment. I don’t want to risk really damaging it, so I’ve made the decision to retire it and move on to a new five string. The Alvarez will hang on my wall as a reminder of God’s provision and love, even in such a small thing. I have a few of those stories.
TL;DR, I have an Alvarez 5 string, it’s not perfect but it’s been perfect for me. I’d recommend one as a good backup bass to anyone who comes across one in their journey or as a great bass to ease the transition from 4 strings to 5. Great bass for the money. Wish I had a pic of her to share!
My dad is a musician and music minister, plays guitar and does the odd gig here and there. After my 14th or so birthday I came home one day to find a Peavey Milestone Precision bass and an amplifier-my dad had bought them because (in his words) he needed a backup bass player and he expected me to be that guy. (So began my journey...)
That bass was soon replaced by a jazz style Peavey Milestone, again procured by my father and sprung on me unexpectedly (moments before a gig no less-don’t do that to your kids, dads out there).
Around the time I turned 16 I was still tooling around on that peavey j bass (maybe the best neck I’ve ever had on a bass, no joke...great shape and thickness, perfect and fast satin finish, and I could leave it sitting for weeks and it maintain tuning...that bass still sits in my office) but had yet to buy a bass on my own. I wanted the joy of picking an instrument myself and feeling connected to it, so I set out to find her.
I of course gravitated to the typical suspects (Fender, MusicMan, etc...) but never quite hit on the perfect companion. I walked into the shop one day and immediately saw my bass, as though she had called to me. It was the first five string I can remember seeing, a beautiful looking top (a flame/quilt laminate) and a striking orange finish. The fretboard was beautiful and dark, and lacked any markers beyond a single diamond band at the twelfth fret. The bass had a set of soapbar pickups I knew nothing about, and I was surprised to find “Alvarez” adorning the gloss black headstock. I played it around an hour and walked out with it that day.
I gigged around the country with that bass over the next few years and it shaped how I played and my musical philosophy. The pickups were warm and deep, and the frets were smaller and less obtrusive than most basses I had played, lending a nearly fretless sound and feel to glissandos and arpeggiated sections. My entire style was influenced and developed with that bass.
After I had stopped gigging and focused on finishing school, I came to a difficult time and found myself in an awful pinch. I hadn’t played in almost two years, and I reluctantly parted ways with the bass. I immediately regretted my decision, but it was done.
Fast forward another two years, and I was asked to join the praise band at a church I had been attending regularly. It’s a fairly large church with a wonderful music ministry, so I was delighted by the opportunity. I soon found out, however, that my 4 string bass wouldn’t cut it there. So many gospel-flavored songs are played in Eb, B, F, etc...keys not well-oriented to a 4 banger, and I found myself fighting for sonic space competing against all the other instrumentation. I remembered my Alvarez bass and regretfully recalled the day I sold it.
I didn’t have much time to mourn. Less than a week later, I got a call from my father telling me that I needed to come see him immediately. I went over to his house, and he pulled out a big case. I opened it up to find my Alvarez, two years removed from when I had last seen her, in better shape than ever before.
Apparently, my dad had walked into the guitar store that morning on a whim. He prepared to leave when someone approached the counter carrying a case, and saying to the sales rep “you’ve got to hear this bass”. My dad can’t explain why he felt the need to stand there as this guy opened his case and pulled this bass out, but he felt like he was supposed to wait and watch this.
So this guy pulls my bass out of the case, complete with my old strap, frets leveled and crowned and freshly set up. My dad immediately recognized it and bought it from the guy on the spot.
“I don’t know why, but God wanted you to have this bass back” is what he told me, without my explanation about my new music endeavor. I was awestruck.
The bass has served me well over the past 7 years, but the neck has developed a slight bend that I’ve been unable to gently coax back into alignment. I don’t want to risk really damaging it, so I’ve made the decision to retire it and move on to a new five string. The Alvarez will hang on my wall as a reminder of God’s provision and love, even in such a small thing. I have a few of those stories.
TL;DR, I have an Alvarez 5 string, it’s not perfect but it’s been perfect for me. I’d recommend one as a good backup bass to anyone who comes across one in their journey or as a great bass to ease the transition from 4 strings to 5. Great bass for the money. Wish I had a pic of her to share!
I have an Alvarez bass 4 string black with EMG active pickups.. I got it new around 1991.. I think mine is one of the prototype's it was made in Korea..love the guitar .. have played it almost every weekend of new to now..
knobs, finish, and bridge are mods obviously. Korean made. Check back headstock for a serial #
I just bought this exact BASS at a music store in Prescott AZ. I was just visiting and for some reason walked into that store. It was the only used 5-string he had, and the price was $250. I loved the feel and sound, unfortnately I didn't really play with the knobs, but after I got it home I started to mess with the sound and noticed that the Bridge pickup doesn't seem to be working. I opened the back and it looks like somebody rewired it. I am waiting to hear back from Alvarez for the wiring diagram so I can fix it.
Did you ever unearth any more details on your bass?
Trying to do some research myself on a nearly identical bass I own. The only difference between my bass and your is the last digit of the serial number! The finish, knobs, and bridge are also the same, so unless someone modded both basses in the same way and sold them off, I'd guess that they're factory original pieces after all.
